Parallel World Fusion
by lalunaticscribe
Summary: "That's why I'll propose a deal. In exchange for this information, I'll personally go to Neo Domino City to drum up support for a new Hero TV show." The possibility of Hero TV Live in Neo Domino at any time soon was going to be VERY different.
1. Prologue: E - Appel de Détresse

_**Parallel World Fusion**_

_**An LLS Production**_

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><p><strong>Le <strong>**début**** : E – Appel de Détresse**

_Eight years ago (N.C. 1970)_

"Uncle, please hand me the ladle."

"Huh?" Wild Tiger tilted his head at the childish sound. The celebrations of another season's end of Hero TV Live usually involved businessmen and arm candies in their best, probably with all the jewels of Sternbild trotted out in the meantime. After all, where was the safest place for valuables than amongst a horde of heroes? With that said, though, usually children didn't attend them...

"What?" Kotetsu knelt down to her eye level, the dark-haired girl in the fluffy blue dress still with one hand stretched towards the fruit cocktail bowl. His breath fogged up in the surprising cold. "What's a little missy like you doing here~?"

"Papa and Maman," she pointed towards the tall blond man and his shapely wife. "Maman is gathering support for the Arcadia Movement. She wants to set up a small group in Sternbild."

"That's nice," Kotetsu agreed absently. "You're not bored? Looking at all of these old uncles and aunties talking about things you don't understand..."

"They're celebrating heroes," she said. "Uncle dropped to fourth place."

"-.-' That's painful..." Kotetsu laughed. "Do you have a name?"

"Yes."

"...will you tell me your name?"

"No."

"...why?"

"Uncle isn't telling me his name," she replied, face expressionless. "Papa always said that it's polite to introduce yourself when you want someone's name."

"I'm Wild Tiger!" A thumb smashed against his chest. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Not at all."

"Maybe it's the mask..." Kotetsu sighed, scooping some of the cocktail out before taking a sniff. "Hold on, this is alcoholic. Follow me."

"Why?"

"Minors shouldn't drink," Kotetsu reproached, moving to another bowl. "It's for your safety. Alright, here you go."

"Thank you very much," the girl bowed, accepting the drink carefully without making skin contact. The drink touched her lips, and then the crunch of chewing ice resounded.

"I didn't put any ice..." Steam wafted again from his breath. "You're a NEXT?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Maman says that I am a Psychic Duelist."

"Well, whatever that is... can you control your power?" Kotetsu shook his head. "What am I saying, if you could then it won't be this cold. Are you cold?"

"The cold doesn't affect me," a lock of dark hair was brushed out of her face, highlighting her blue eyes which was probably due to her NEXT power. "I think."

"Don't worry!" A smile forced itself onto his face. "You'll find something only you can do. With these incredible powers, you can be a Hero!"

"I don't want to."

"Eh?" Kotetsu paused.

"I don't want to be... a Hero."

"...That's okay, too," Kotetsu reached out to pat her head. "I... have a daughter around your age. A cute little girl like you shouldn't have to put yourself in danger. If you just protect those things precious to you, that's alright."

"...I will keep those words in mind," the dark-haired girl replied. "Thank you. If you ever come to Neo Domino City, you can rely on the help of Shimotsuki Setsuka."

"Setsuka?" Kotetsu repeated. "That's a pretty name..."

"It's time to go," the severe-faced blond man was there, glaring at the Hero like he would take on the NEXT if Kotetsu was even slightly threatening.

"_Oui, papa._" A short bow. "_Bonne soirée, Oncle Héro._"

* * *

><p><em>Present day (N.C. 1979)<em>

"Neo Domino City," Agnes read off the holographic display of Apollon Media's internal server. "We've been trying to branch into Neo Domino City, but there's a lot of opposition to Hero TV. Is that all, Mr Seymour?"

"Of course not, Agnes~" Nathan teased, crossing the legs that stretched in hot pink and ended in heels.

"Why would you suddenly think about a city in Japan?" Agnes questioned. "Is Helios Energy moving house?"

"I wouldn't bear to leave Hero TV and so many handsome and cute people behind," Nathan purred, but his expression soured. "Neo Domino City is the home of the Momentum reactor. That reactor and its guardians, the Momentum Investigation and Development Section, is owned by Kaiba Corporation."

"The ultimate energy generation system... you're going to buy it?" Agnes leant forward.

"No, no~" Nathan still looked sour at his revelation. "I wish, then that happy news would be the talk of Sternbild by evening~ But, I was not only rejected, the reactor is going to be nationalised. There are plans to link it with every major city in the world. That's why I'm looking for some dark secret to it, Ms Joubert."

"Even though you're the owner, there's quite a downside risk..." Agnes commented. "But, you do know that this might hit the evening rush?"

"Oh, I'm sure it will," Nathan agreed. "That's why I'll propose a deal. In exchange for this information, I'll _personally_ go to Neo Domino City to drum up support for a new Hero TV show. That stone-faced bastard that sounds like me isn't going to get his way!"

"It sounds like you have a grudge against someone in Neo Domino..." Agnes commented as the flamboyant Hero was metaphorically and literally stewing. "...but I like that idea."

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><p><em><strong>What do you think? Please review!<strong>_


	2. I: Gravitation de Terre Ferme

_**Parallel World Fusion**_

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><p><strong>I : Gravitation de Terre Ferme<strong>

"Yes, yes!" Nathan clapped his hands gleefully. "Now, I'll be going on a business trip to Neo Domino City. Ms Joubert has also persuaded me to bring along Handsome and Tiger to help out with the negotiations for setting up a Hero TV franchise there. Are there any questions?"

"I refuse!" Kotetsu Kaburagi shot back. "I've never heard of such a thing! Why the hell do we have to follow you?"

"It can't be helped, Tiger~ After all, I'm paying."

"Neo Domino City!" Ivan echoed. "That's the world capital of Duel Monsters! I want to go..."

"Anyway, why are _we_ going, Nathan?" the other half of Apollon Media's Second League hero duo spoke up. "Normally Agnes-san would just send the production team to negotiate it..."

"Good question, Handsome," Nathan clapped his hands. "Even across the Pacific Ocean, the name of Neo Domino City must catch your attention somehow, right?"

"I can't say that I pay much attention," Barnaby agreed. "But Kotetsu-san is right, unfortunately."

"O- Oi! Bunny!"

"Why would anyone deliberately send three Heroes, especially powerful NEXT like us?" Barnaby continued. "Maybe the reason Hero TV doesn't want to send its production team is much deeper. A population against the integration of NEXTs, for example."

"Well, as for that... Ivan can give the answer," Nathan considered Origami Cyclone, who immediately produced a projector that flashed against one wall of the shared Justice Tower gym.

"Neo Domino City is the world capital of Duel Monsters," Ivan explained as pictures of elaborate monsters and warriors and mecha and other things fought at the directions of men and women against each other. "With Kaiba Corporation's infamous Solid Vision holographic system, the game of Duel Monsters is a fast competitor for entertainment channels, though it doesn't really catch on in a city-state like Sternbild. Neo Domino especially is famous for its Riding Duel scene, where Riding Duelists participate in Duels of card games on D-Wheels."

"... I think I get it," Kotetsu nodded as a dragon started chomping on several large insects to screaming crowds. "With _Clash of the Titans_ available for cheap in stadiums, it's hard to compete."

"It's just a game," Barnaby scoffed. "With a lot of special effects and holograms, but just a game."

"About that..."

Ivan paused, before switching to another video, this of a street lined with buildings on either side. Except that most city streets were not being torn up by gale force winds, formed with a backdrop of a dark dragon with outspread wings. A dreadful, inhuman bellow filtered through the speakers and the shaky footage dropped, as if the cameraman had given in to fear.

"That dragon tore up the place?" Kotetsu voiced, stunned.

"Perhaps it's a NEXT power," Barnaby volunteered.

"And then..." Ivan pulled up another video, this one of a shapely woman in red racing on an equally carmine motorcycle against a man. She played a few cards, said something, and then a black dragon with scarlet petal wings shimmered into being overhead. Despite the ferocity of that same dragon, the crowd cheered; clearly, this was another part of the _Clash of the Titans _that Kotetsu had derided. "Now compare the two."

"They're similar... almost the same," Nathan gasped. "Ah, how scary~!"

"But, to get so much research on this topic, you must be pretty interested, Origami," Kotetsu remarked.

A flash, a tower insignia that topped a website, and a Tube channel revealed more, now with a variety of monsters and commanders. "Japan's NEXT policy is interesting, especially with regards to Neo Domino City. Around the same time as the first wave of Noted Entities with Extraordinary Talents forty-six years ago, certain individuals gained power that allowed them to damage and hurt people via the medium of Solid Vision."

"So that monster is still a hologram that coincidentally damages things," Barnaby noted. "It acts like a dragon, destroys things like a dragon... it's like calling Kotetsu-san a tiger and expecting him to act like one."

"Yeah- Oi!" Kotetsu protested. "Bunny!"

"Because of the conflation of Solid Vision and KaibaCorp's iron hold on the Solid Vision technology, these individuals became known as Psychic Duelists; that is, players of Duel Monsters who can inflict real damage through their cards," Ivan steam-rolled over the impending argument. "They faced much of the same circumstances as NEXT, but banded together to form the Arcadia Movement, headquarters in Neo Domino City. After some rocky management, scandals, criminal investigations, and a period of time where the name lay defunct, it was resurrected under new management, and expanded its activities to provide refuge to a host of powered individuals across the world. It hit the news again when its leader, Diana Hunter, was assassinated and the leader's daughter took over."

"Assassinated?" Kotetsu echoed. "That's terrible! Is that the Japan I know?"

"I remember meeting her," Nathan commented. "A thoroughly... unsettling woman. I'd like to be thankful that she's gone, but with people like that, they're always more troublesome dead. At least it's now probable that this is the reason why Ms Joubert insists on sending Handsome and Tiger."

"Why?" the old veteran asked. "'Cause Bunny can charm people into the best deals?"

Nathan's wide lips curved into a large smile. "Perhaps."

* * *

><p>"Mayor, I think that I should step aside..."<p>

"Nonsense!" Yeager snapped back. "Helios Energy's owner himself is visiting our Neo Domino City for the Momentum reactor alone! As the head of the research team, you have a duty to be here!"

In the background, one of the interns leant towards another intern. "Why is the Mayor dragging Chief out?"

"Apparently there's a big-shot visiting and they want Chief to meet him."

"Poor Chief..."

"I really think that you don't need me," MIDS Chief Researcher Yusei Fudo protested. "I'm just a researcher, there's a lot of work to do. Chairperson Kaiba could send someone else!"

"Don't give up, Chief!" another researcher called.

"Fight! Don't be shy, Chief!"

"Your subordinates said so!" Yeager snapped, dragging the taller researcher out of the large, vault-like sterile laboratory and down a hallway. "You should be familiar with this process already, really... if you didn't skip out so often."

"I just don't get business politics," Yusei groused, now glaring down at him. "You too, you've got an ulterior motive by dragging me along."

"If Helios Energy is interested in even a little bit of the Momentum reactor, we can set up another line to Sternbild City," Yeager commented as they approached a corner. "The increased interaction between one of the Pacific's richest city-states and Neo Domino City would bring millions in revenue."

"But usually they're the ones visiting the reactor-"

"Ah," the purr came once the door to the visitor's lounge crashed open. "_Bonjour, monsieur bel inconnu. Comment ça va? _Oh, wait, my Japanese is a bit rusty..."

"Er, I can speak English," Yusei blinked as the dark-skinned man with the electric pink buzz-cut invaded his personal space. "Um... nice to meet you."

"Mr Seymour, this is the Momentum Investigation and Development Section Chief, Dr Fudo," Yeager introduced. "Chairperson Kaiba is currently not available, so he shall show you around instead. Yusei, this is Mr Nathan Seymour, owner of Helios Energy in Sternbild."

"Well, I've heard of the genius Yusei Fudo, but to imagine that he'd be so handsome," Nathan blew a kiss.

"He sounds like Kaiba-san... but it's not Kaiba-san..." Yusei pondered. "Erm... shall we begin?"

"Now if only it could be a bit sexier," Nathan lamented. "Then again, that straight-laced charm works... shall we do it?*"

A thump sounded, and both taller men just stared at Yeager's prone form. "...apologies, Mr Seymour. I'll call someone to bring him to the infirmary first."

"Take your time, Doctor," Nathan winked. "It's a shame, though, that you're already married."

"Ah, yes..."

"You have children?"

"Two of them... well, sometimes it feels like there's more," Yusei pondered. "My friends are married too, and his son's my godson..."

* * *

><p>"Missy, it looks like the Hero TV proposal is making the rounds once more. What should we do?"<p>

"... open an investigation," the childish voice replied. "If it runs along any lines like a reality TV show, open all obstacles to block the proposal and sink it."

"As you wish. But... I really think that it might be a good proposal. At least, our members wouldn't feel bored."

"Nakamura-san. This Arcadia Movement was formed to integrate Psychic Duelists back into society. That means, there is no obligation for our members to become public spectacles. That policy will not change. With that said-" She was interrupted by the ring of the telephone, immediately jamming a button. "Hold on, Nakamura-san."

"Yes."

The button was depressed. "Arcadia Movement Central, Shimotsuki speaking."

"_Setsuka_?" a woman's voice cut in.

"Izayoi-sensei," she acknowledged. "Is there something I can assist you?"

"_I'm_ _at the Neo Domino History Museum with Seika, at the new Durga exhibit,_" came the fast explanation. "_There are several people trashing the exhibits and barricading the museum. I can't take all of them alone._"

"Reginald and Glen shall be with you shortly, we'll patch you to them at first opportunity. Please remain calm. Do you have your DuelDisk?"

"_Y- Yes,_" there was gagging over the telephone. "_They're... zombies? I think? It looks like someone's reanimating corpses... I'll meet those two around the main entrance._"

"I will assist you. Well, then."

The receiver was dropped back into the cradle, and another button pressed.

"Patch Siegfried and Spark to Izayoi-sensei immediately. I will be attending to a sudden crisis at the Neo Domino History Museum. Bushido and Spirit of the Books will share command. Polaris, over and out." A black jacket pulled on over a buttoned white shirt before the girl picked up her DuelDisk and headed for the window. "I'm going out. Would you hold down the fort for me, please?"

"It's been a year... yes, Missy."

"Thank you." Then the girl leapt out of the window.

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><p><em><strong>*This is different from the previous proposition. <strong>__**私たちは始めるましょうか？**__**vs**__**やらないか**__**?**_

_**This story takes place post-5Ds and pre-Rising → N.C. 1979. That is, 46 years after the first appearances of NEXT.**_

_**Please review!**_


	3. II : Tigre des Flammes

_**Parallel World Fusion**_

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><p><strong>II : Tigre des Flammes<strong>

Although equally ultra-modern and glitzy as Sternbild, Neo Domino had somehow managed to keep some futuristic polish about itself; from the abstract-looking Infinity Monument over the Daedalus Bridge, to the surprisingly graceful dragon statues scattered around the city. The long racing courses curved around the heart of downtown Neo Domino, veins of transportation and people flowing with the lifeblood of the city in a way that kept up the tempo of life without it being hectic or forced. Unlike Sternbild, parts of which had been hurriedly built for living and factory space, Neo Domino seemed meticulously planned and built, and it showed in the Greco-Roman marble exterior of the Neo Domino History Museum, so incorrectly named though it currently showed an exhibit on Indian culture.

"It's a little bit morbid, to be honest," Kotetsu commented, staring at the painting of a ten-armed woman bearing various weapons, standing on the back of a tiger to fend off demons.

"'Durga, the Hindu goddess of victory of good over evil,'" Barnaby noted on the plaque next to the painting. "'Durga rides the sacred tiger Dawon, also known as Dewloren, into battle, bearing the _trishula _which represent various trinities, or _guna_.' Nothing morbid."

"I mean the next one," Kotetsu pointed to a near-identical ten-armed woman wreathed and garlanded with skulls, draped in intestines, bearing a decapitated head in one arm and dancing on top of a man with her tongue sticking out.

"'Kali, the fierce aspect of Durga, which is associated with Parvati and Shakti,'" Barnaby read out. "'She is the goddess of time, change, and destruction.' I see what you mean."

"Right?" Kotetsu nodded quickly.

"Either this is a testament to the frightfulness of justice, or it's a commentary on downtrodden tigers."

"_Buuuuunny_," Kotetsu lamented, drawing a deep breath before he flinched and held his nose.

"Isn't that so?" Barnaby needled, turning to consider more of the displays. "What are you doing?"

"No, it's just... something stinks here," Kotetsu mumbled, looking around the stark mausoleum of statuary and its milling viewers, as well as a low hubbub of sound that followed the crowds and their soft gasps at the subject matter.

"Stinks?" Barnaby sniffed experimentally, before clapping a hand over his nose and mouth. "You're right. It stinks."

"Oi!" Kotetsu approached a nearby blue-suited security guard with his back turned. "There's something wrong..."

The security guard collapsed, painting the Carrara marble a bloody red with a wet splat. The crowd stopped, several people gasping at the sight. The security guard twitched, corpsing on the floor, prone on his front as he stumbled back up just as Barnaby got to him. A maggot dropped, twitching before there was a scream and a stampede.

"What the-" Kotetsu gaped as the rotting corpse security guard picked him up and threw him into another display, this one with a man dancing.

"Kotetsu-san!" The dancing statue was barely grazed as Kotetsu was spun about, Barnaby somehow managing to use the momentum to ground them, with Kotetsu in a perfect bridal carry. "Are you alright?"

"Yea- Look out!" The dancing statue fell amidst tinkling glass as another corpsing guard joined them, this time the Hero duo were lugged out of the way by Kotetsu.

Barnaby's ringlets shimmered with NEXT power as he grabbed one of the jagged chakrams from a display and flung it, the honed edge slicing off one arm. A drop stained the marble red, but the corpse made no response or reaction, its gaunt face hollow and empty in its single-minded goal. "Why would they attack you, Kotetsu-san? You don't have much brains."

"You shut up!"

There was a piercing scream, and Kotetsu was already in motion to pull a little girl away from the approaching zombies.

"Seika!" A red-haired woman called out, running towards them.

"Baa-chan!" the girl called back. "Thank you, Uncle!"

"It's alright," Kotetsu assured.

"T- Thank you," the well-dressed woman bowed before her back straightened. "Seika, go out. Help is coming."

"Yes!"

"What are you doing?" Kotetsu asked as the woman put on a large plate-like device onto her left arm. "It's dangerous here, get out!"

One high-jump kick from Barnaby and a flip sent a zombie scattered through a multitude of weapons. The alarms kept ringing, joined now with the overhead sprinklers that started to bite at the bloody prints.

Several javelins were flung out with audible _clacks_, and more zombies were shambling back up. The woman's device opened to form a plate attachment that shimmered with carmine light. From it she drew a card, holding it aloft before her.

"Wall of Thorns!"

A shimmering translucent barrier appeared between the zombie's thrown punch and the two of them. The same wall radiated light, which slammed into the zombies present. Several of them popped with audible cracks like breaking bone; one imploded, scattering seeds about.

Amidst the corpses slamming into the marble, Barnaby just gaped. "What just happened?"

Purple energy was beginning to crackle, just as Barnaby stopped glowing.

"They're coming back," the woman frowned at the large glass floor-to-ceiling windows of the exhibition hall. "Let's get out."

Kotetsu opened his mouth, but the truly inhuman groan and the scrabbling of fingers killed any words he might have spoken. "Good idea. Ladies first."

She frowned. "I'm the only one who can take them on at present. Go on ahead."

"But, miss, you're-"

"Kotetsu-san!" Barnaby dived to trip up the zombie, but got his leg caught and the Hero was bodily flung into Kotetsu. The wind was knocked out of his lungs, the sprinklers kept spattering water, and Kotetsu had lost his hat somewhere... it was not a good time, Kotetsu reflected as he shielded Barnaby from the rain of spears.

"Black Rose Dragon!"

Thorned black vines snapped out, throwing the zombie away. Powerful and wild as a forest fire, red wings spread. Blearily, still buried and protecting Barnaby, Kotetsu watched as the black and red dragon blew a stream of violet flame to burn the monster to death. And still, even in death, the zombie kept twitching as the glass window behind it shattered with a blast of cold.

"Dark Core." A sphere of black surrounded it and winked out, just as white paws skidded to a stop and the armoured white tiger that possessed those paws gave a low growl.

Its rider dismounted, petting the tiger absently. "It looks like you had most of this under control."

"The Duelist?" the red-haired woman with the dragon demanded.

"Unknown." The dark-haired girl stopped the ministrations on her tiger, glancing down to watch the seeds dissolve into so much air. "We must leave."

"But there are people still trapped here," the red-haired woman pointed, as the dragon began to dig through the wall of spears and drag the two Heroes out. "He's injured! Black Rose Dragon, we must get them out."

Held up in the air, gently swaying, the black vines manipulated Kotetsu and Barnaby out towards the waiting ambulances, all the while under the watching gaze of the dark-haired girl. Kotetsu blinked once, twice, and the tiger huffed at the third time, at which he began to sleep.

* * *

><p>Yellow crime scene tape decorated the hall now, technicians swarming all over the place, officers taking reports, collating information to piece together a cohesive picture of the event timeline. Some more technicians in blue onesies were checking on the imploded – and, in one case, roasted – remains.<p>

"There's something!" One of them called, pulling out the wet remains of a card from a corpse, one with a shimmering square box still present. "A card?"

"A card?" was Detective Inspector Ushio's echo, along with the blue-haired girl. "Why?"

"This is the first time I've encountered such things," the girl commented as well. "Skull Servant... a weak card, but in the right combo... any other cards?"

"Erm..." Ushio peered into the evidence bags, setting the wet card back into its own paper evidence bag. "The Wandering Doomed... Ghoul with An Appetite... Graveyard and the Hand of Invitation... Armored Zombie... The 13th Grave... and the seeds that you saw just now was a Pumprincess the Princess of Ghosts, according to the security tapes."

"When Pumprincess is destroyed, it can be set up as a Continuous Spell," the girl commented. "This may be just the beginning, Ushio-keibu. And... the two men?"

"Ah, they're foreigners from Sternbild," Ushio replied, rifling through papers. "Look, missy*, I might be giving you Arcadia people my help, but you still gotta report to me, alright? You might insist on this, but as the Neo Domino Police you're _my_ responsibility."

"Do I look like I would lie to you?" she asked. "The information."

"Ah, Kaburagi T. Kotetsu and Barnaby Brooks Junior," Ushio read out. "Looks like they're TV stars or something. That worldwide Hero TV show? And they have powers, like you guys."

"NEXT and Psychic Duels are different," the girl primly stated. "If people wish to make a display of their powers, they become targets. Then they die."

"Right...I forgot, your mother...Anyway... what do you think?" Ushio asked awkwardly. "About this guy?"

"From the selection of cards... these are cheap." she bluntly replied. "The criminal was probably testing his powers. The DuelDisk usually means that the Psychic Duelist would have a limited range. This way... if we assume that the card was implanted into the corpse, the range would definitely be extended, making a zombie. I'll have to search the database when I get back, but this is more than likely to be a set-up."

"A set-up... got it," Ushio noted down. "What's with the world...?"

"If that is all, we must interview the men," the girl noted.

"You go ahead," Ushio called as she walked off, pulling out his cellphone. "I have a suspicious person to call on."

A few buttons, and Ushio was put through KaibaCorp's switchboard to MIDS. "Hello? It's Detective Inspector Ushio. Is Dr Fudo in?"

"_Apologies,_" the intern sputtered. "_Chief just left the place. Some big-shot CEO just flew in from Sternbild and Chief is showing him around. Can I take a message?_"

"Ah, it's alright," Ushio reassured, hanging up. "Sternbild, huh? And those two as well... what a coincidence."

* * *

><p>"Our interview today is shot," Barnaby's lengthy complaint was ongoing from his perch on an uncomfortable steel-framed hospital chair. "Ms Joubert is going to kill us. The only reason Apollon Media is footing the bill for our round trip is just for this interview."<p>

"It's not our fault! Ouch..." Kotetsu winced from his bed. The two of them were currently in an enclosed ward, accompanied with their very own guards and two boys milling about. It could have been the children's ward, except that neither of them looked sick or injured, and both had one of those devices the dragon-wielding red-haired woman carried.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," the same woman walked in, now in a doctor's coat, but the same device still on her arm. "Reggie, Glen, it's alright. She's here."

Both boys nodded, walking out of the ward to close the door with finality.

"You work here?!" Kotetsu accused.

"I do," the woman confirmed. "My name is Izayoi Aki, and I'm a doctor here. You are?"

"I'm Tiger. He's Bunny." Kotetsu pointed.

"This isn't Sternbild, old man!" Barnaby drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry for him. He's Kotetsu Kaburagi. My name is Barnaby Brooks Jr. We're both from Sternbild, working for Apollon Media."

"That works out so far," Aki agreed, writing on her clipboard. "All in line with what the Neo Domino Police Department said. Do you have any history of drug allergies?"

"No/Yes," was their simultaneous answer.

"I'm not allergic!" Kotetsu protested.

"Penicillin makes you break out in hives."

"T- That's mild!"

"No, it's not!"

"Well... perhaps I should step in later," Aki stated as she finished writing.

"The rest of our medical records can be gotten through Apollon Media," Barnaby automatically supplied. "It's better than relying on this unreliable old man. I presume that your real purpose is to silence us, is it?"

"Hmm?" Aki looked up, before producing a staff pass with her face clearly printed. "No, I really work here. I'm usually in the paediatric ward, but I help out in A&E emergencies and with cases involving NEXT."

"Because you're a NEXT yourself?" Barnaby demanded.

"It's not exactly clear," Aki absently replied. "I mean people with special abilities in general, be they Noted Entities with Extraordinary Talents or Psychic Duelists."

"Psychic Duelists?" Kotetsu echoed.

"Origami Cyclone mentioned them," Barnaby lectured. "Players of Duel Monsters, who can inflict real damage through a card game. That Black Rose Dragon... might you be the Black Rose Witch, Dr Izayoi?"

Aki just looked at them, golden cat-eyes blank and shadowed. "I have no obligation to inform you."

"I understand," Barnaby backed down, eyeing her sudden twitch towards the device. "But you have not answered the question."

"Oi, she saved us. Be _polite_," Kotetsu coughed, sensing that the bunny was going mad.

Barnaby scowled, but relaxed from his perch next to Kotetsu's cot. "In what universe does a card game hurt people?"

"I don't know," Aki stated. "My friends don't seem to mind, though. However, I have someone from the authorities who wishes to speak with the both of you. Will you take it?"

"We don't mind." Kotetsu flashed his best smile.

Aki smiled back, though it was a perfunctory gesture as she turned to the door. "I see..."

The temperature dropped as the door opened and she walked in; a dark-haired girl wearing a buttoned long-sleeved shirt, paired with a monochrome plaid pleated skirt and black tights in brown loafers. Her hair itself was worn loose, pinned up only with a barrette on the back for neatness. It was her eyes that were the most arresting feature of her features: old and cold enough to freeze. She was accompanied with a large heavy-set man with dark skin, but the man paled in comparison to her presence.

"Good afternoon," the girl spoke, her voice high-pitched and cold in accented English. "I am Setsuka Shimotsuki, a Psychic Duelist representing the Neo Domino Arcadia Movement. Detective Inspector Ushio has agreed to be the representative of the law in this investigation."

"...a child?" Kotetsu was the first to react.

"We have reason to believe that Kaburagi-san was targeted," Setsuka continued. "Please cooperate with our investigation."

"...someone tried to murder _me_?" Kotetsu pointed a finger straight into the kitty-goatee. "Really?"

"UTC +0900 fourteen-sixteen hours today, four known NEXT assassins enter Neo Domino City," Setsuka recited with barely a change in expression. "Before that, two days ago, _The Sternbild Daily _reported the trip of Nathan Seymour to Neo Domino City, accompanied by friends Kotetsu Kaburagi and Barnaby Brooks Junior. Our presence mean that those assassins would usually never come here, since we of the Arcadia Movement watch over all Noted Entities in the area, especially in Neo Domino City and its outlying areas. It's a one-in-three chance between Mr Brooks, Mx Seymour, and yourself; hence the 'reason' instead of a definitive conclusion."

"Me?"

"It could be Nathan or I as well, old man," Barnaby snapped. "It's a one-in-three chance, like she said."

"But... why are you investigating?" Kotetsu turned to the girl. "A child having to involve herself like this, isn't it too stressful? What about school? Children-"

"If it is a question of ability, there are few better suited Psychic Duelists in the whole city," Setsuka stated. "In the whole world, as well. Furthermore, there is an additional angle to the game."

"Then get one who's overage!" Kotetsu shot back.

"None of them are," Setsuka replied.

"Then... Dr Izayoi is a Psychic Duelist as well... right?"

"I..." Aki started. "I... can't."

The cold eyes narrowed. "Dr Izayoi is sworn to the Hippocratic Oath. Furthermore, there is an additional angle-"

Without looking, she reached back and grabbed a hand, eliciting a squeal and a moaning Nathan clutching his hand close to himself. "What's with that?"

"Just nice," Ushio sighed, relieved. "I won't be able to control her much longer, Dr Fudo."

"That sounds strange coming from you, Ushio," Yusei spoke up. "I wasn't even intending to get involved in this. Hello, Setsuka."

"Professor," was the cold reply. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>*<strong>__**お嬢さん **__**vs **__**お嬢ちゃん**_

_**Please review!**_


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